Blood Suckers
by angie1la
Summary: After a near-fatal mission, Robin is left dying. Then, after only a day, he's better. To the team's shock, he's even better than before, and seems to have received some shocking new powers.


**Hey, whats up**

**I don't really know what to say in these intro thing, but for some reason i feel obliged to make one so i guess i'll just tell you i'm not the best writer and my ideas can sort of get cramped when i put them in words so if some parts are confusing or anything like that, sorry**

**Um, i guess that's all**

**enjoy**

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

_"ROBIN!"_

Screams tore through the air, shredding his ears to the point where he was near deaf. His head rang with such intensity, throbbing violently right behind his eyes. He heard his name shouted again and again, then fading until the world muffled and dimmed.

Everything was muted. The world turned black and white, the colors less vivid and less visible. The violence displayed before looked softer, and the pain that should have ensued dulled.

He looked down. Blood spurted out of his stomach, almost in slow motion, soaking his uniform and streaking over the cold cement floors.

It was odd. He knew exactly what he should be feeling. The raw flesh he held together with his gloved hands, the thumping of his pulse, searing pain that went speared his body. But, he was numb all over. It was as if he was watching it happen to someone else, and merely sympathizing what was happening.

Suddenly his head jolted forward as his knees hit the ground and he gasped for air, his lips dark with blood. His hearing returned somewhat, allowing him to hear the suppressed roar of the chaos around him. Slowly he was aware of his surroundings. He felt his chest unevenly rising and falling at each ragged breath. His fingers were clenched so tightly over his stomach, but he couldn't relaxed.

He was racked with pain.

Every nerve of his body burned with such intense fire, he completely forgot about his gaping wound. His brain was being driven through by nails and his limbs felt raw and extremely sensitive, as if someone had scraped them clean of his skin.

He let out a blood curling scream.

Confusion bombarded his mind, melting into panic and terror. His throat constricted, choking as he desperately tried to draw in air, and let out a short gasp as fragments of memory returned to him.

The mission. The alarms. The civilians. The attack. The enemy.

His mind clear at the single word.

_The enemy_.

He clenched his teeth, anger surging through his veins, but he felt himself losing consciousness. He tried t keep himself awake, focusing on his pain and everything he saw through his torn mask. It wasn't enough.

The last thing he saw was a wide smile with two abnormally long teeth before the world went black.

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><p>It wasn't supposed to happen. None of it was.<p>

The job they had was simple, only a recon mission, and they did succeed in retrieving the need information, yet the casualties were hardly worth it.

Everyone was injured, some worse than others, and there had nearly been a death. Or, there will be a death if they didn't get help fast.

_Is everyone okay?_ Aqualad's urgent voice filled the mental link.

_No,_ Superboy replied angrily. _M'gann is hurt, but there aren't any wounds. Where the hell are you?_

_On the_ _roof. I was ambushed._

_Weren't we all?_ Artemis snapped. Then her voice softened._ Kid Flash and I are underground. Robin's injured. It's getting pretty bad. He's lost a lot of blood and... I don't think he'll make it._

_Yes he will, _Aqualad said firmly. _Superboy, take Miss M outside to the original rondevu point and take her into the bio ship. We'll meet you shortly. Kid Flash, can you still run?__  
><em>

_Yep, I'm fine,_ Wally answered grimly.

_No, you're not,_ Artemis interfered. _Your leg was stabbed, and it's probably poisoned. I could run faster than you right now._

_I'll take Rob to the med lab, _Wally insisted._ Then I can crash and get treated, too. I'll make it, I swear._

_Fine, _Aqualad said over Artemis's protests. _Go, take Robin. Artemis, come above ground and meet Superboy at the bio ship._

_What're you going to do? _Superboy asked.

_I, too, am injured, _he admitted. _It may take a while to get down._

_I'll help, _Artemis said, clearly after having a verbal argument with Wally. _I just want to get back to the cave._

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><p>"What <em>happened?<em>"

Aqualad flinched at the harsh words, slightly surprised at the emotion Batman spoke with rather than the usual, "Mission report." Plus, just standing before the hologram made the ground spin underneath him, and the angry red burn on his shoulder seared with pain as if fire was pressing against it again.

"The mission happened. The enemy found us far too quickly and attacked with no mercy. There was nothing we could do. The team is lucky to be alive."

"Who was the enemy."

Aqualad grimaced. "I'm not sure, but definitely not human."

"I believe Aqualad should head over to the med lab with the rest of the team," Red Tornado intervened. "He needs rest. You may interrogate him later."

Batman glared at the robot, then nodded.

"Fine. Batman out." The screen disappeared.

The Atlantean sighed and followed Red Tornado to infirmary. The rest of the team was already there, each set with their own bed and needles poked into them to measure their stability. Half were unconscious, and the other half were deep in thought. Their den mother seated him, and began cleaning his burn.

"That went well," Artemis grumbled, rubbing the bandages that wrapped her right arm. Her bow arm. The enemy must have injured her their knowingly, so she wouldn't be able to shoot for several weeks. "Did we even get what we were supposed to get?"

"Yes. On technical terms, the mission was a success." Aqualad settled in the big, fluffy pillows with his shoulder wrapped, though his body was still tense.

"But was it worth it?" Superboy asked roughly. He occasionally pawed at the bandages bound around his head. "We know what we need to know, but we could've all died! M'gann is hurt! Robin is dying! We won't be able to go on any missions for at least a month! If those _things_ hadn't retreated, who knows what else would've happened?!"

They all fell silent, bitterly agreeing to the fact that they were utterly defeated, then the fact that their youngest, most experienced member might not survive.

Artemis slid off her bed, her boots echoing in the silence, and sat on the bed Robin rested on. She felt a guilty relief that M'gann wasn't awake because she would be weeping at this point, making her cry as well. She managed to wipe her face clean of emotions, though it hurt to see Robin like this.

His face was deathly pale, almost an ashen gray, and twisted in pain. A cold sweat beaded at his forehead as he shivered violently, moaning and whimpering in pain. His mask was still in shreds, framing his shut eyes in a way that made him look completely defeated.

Which he was.

Artemis reached over his face and carefully peeled off his mask. Wally, who had just woken up, shouted in protest. He was the only one who knew Robin's real identity and understood why he was so secretive about it.

His mask came off surprisingly easily, and the other team members leaned in to look at his face.

Even with the shallowness of his face and his pained expression, Robin suddenly looked much younger. Innocent, pure, good-looking; words they probably would've never used to describe the boy were obvious, and another surge of worry pulsed among them.

He looked so frail, like a little robin caressed in their palms.

"Team meeting in five minutes," Red Tornado reappeared at the med lab doorway. "Batman will be conducting it. Please be there."

Aqualad sighed and was the first to leave. Superboy gave another worried glance at M'gann, then quickly followed.

"C'mon, let's go," Wally muttered.

"Hold on, let me put another mask on Robin. He'll freak if he wakes up without one," Artemis dug through the drawer beside the bed.

"He usually keeps a few in his belt," Wally lifted the blanket and pulled one out, careful to not touch the bloody bandage wrapped over his stomach, then smirked. "Can't blame his obsession with masks."

Artemis chuckled. "Thanks. Don't wait up, I'll be there in a sec."

Taken aback by her sudden eagerness for him to leave, Wally nodded curtly and stalked out of the room.

Once he was out of sight, she turned back to Robin and leaned over his face. Curiosity burned in her chest with one question in her mind: what color were his eyes? Her fingers twitched towards his eyelids and lifted it up. She gasped and pulled her hand back.

She wasn't sure if she saw right, but she was too frightened to check again. It was probably just a trick of the light, or she was probably still light-headed. Whatever it was, she wasn't completely sure.

Because in the moment she saw his eye, it was completely black.

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><p><strong>Sorry if it was a bit dramatic<strong>

**Please review!**


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